50-year supporter, fundraiser for Old Globe loved theater

Jim Poet’s idea of a good time was going to the theater. When employees of his Culligan Water Conditioning franchise met their goals, he would treat them to a show.

“One year, he took us to Pasadena to dinner and to see a new play that had just come out, ‘Mister Roberts,’ ” said longtime friend and employee Willie Wilson. “Another time, he took us to Las Vegas, and we went to four or five shows. It was all we did.”

Mr. Poet was a staunch supporter of The Old Globe Theatre, rarely missing a fundraiser since his wife Dolly joined the Globe Guilders auxiliary in 1961. In 2000, he was one of the Globe’s “Men of the Millennium,” helping rack up record sales of opportunity drawing tickets at the annual fashion show.

“Jim Poet, and his beloved Dolly, were the anchors of my emotional and creative ride through the Globe experience,” said Jack O’Brien, the theater’s former longtime artistic director. “At a cocktail party to introduce me to existing board members, they were the first to rise up and embrace me, and so it was throughout my happy and wonderful tenure in San Diego.

“They were nothing short of lifeblood to the Globe. … The legacy they leave behind is, truly, inspirational not only for their own children, but for all of us who love the arts.”

Mr. Poet died of natural causes at his La Jolla home on Feb. 12. He was 90.

He and his bride, high school sweetheart Dorothy “Dolly” Case, moved from New Jersey to San Bernardino in 1945, attracted to the business opportunities of an emerging field. There, he purchased a Culligan Water Conditioning franchise in 1946, and a decade later, bought a fledgling Culligan franchise in San Diego.

“When he built the plant, engineers from Culligan’s home office in Northbrook, Ill., came to help him, but he wouldn’t take a lot of their advice,” said Wilson, who was hired by Mr. Poet in 1951 and stayed in his employ until the San Diego franchise was sold in 1983. “He had vision.

“The plant he built was probably 15 years ahead of its time. He did things, all labor-saving, that Culligan didn’t think could be done.”

Mr. Poet’s cutting-edge approaches were such that Culligan’s parent office abandoned its new franchisee training in the 1960s and directed them to San Diego to undergo orientation with Mr. Poet, Wilson said. After retiring in 1983, Mr. Poet remained as a consultant with the company for five years.

James John Poet was born on May 30, 1920, in Mineola on Long Island, New York, the eldest of two sons to James and Julia Planchon Poet. French was spoken in the home, and he did not learn English until he attended kindergarten.

At Barringer High School, Mr. Poet studied violin, playing in the first violin section of the Newark, N.J., All City Orchestra. He gave up the instrument when it conflicted with his other love: sports.

Mr. Poet participated in track, football and wrestling in high school and baseball at Montclair State Teachers College, where he graduated in 1941 with a bachelor’s degree in social studies. He was inducted into the Montclair State Athletic Hall of Fame.

His athletic build was not an asset, however, when he tried in enlist in the Navy in 1942. Deemed “too fat,” Mr. Poet was rejected, and it wasn’t until he lost 20 pounds in two weeks on a diet of lettuce and fruit juice that he passed the fitness exam and was admitted to the Navy.

An ensign, he served throughout World War II as an instructor at Cornell University and later as the captain of a PT boat in the Mediterranean. After the war, he continued in the Naval Reserve as a battalion commander and commander.

In addition to The Old Globe, Mr. Poet was involved with the San Diego Executive Association, Mt. Soledad Memorial Society, the American Legion and Kiwanis.

Mr. Poet is survived by his son James of Highlands, Utah; daughters Suzanne Turner of El Cajon and Stephanie Cohen of Coral Gables, Fla.; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife in 2007.

A private memorial and interment at Fort Rosecrans will be held in the spring. The family suggests donations to the Shakespeare and Classical Theatre Fund at The Old Globe Theatre, P.O. Box 122171, San Diego, CA 92112, or to Montclair State University, James J. Poet Sportsmanship Award, 1 Normal Ave., Montclair, N.J. 07043.